‘King Tirian is a character in The Last Battle. I know all the Narnia books because I’ve read them with my son. And Digory Kirke turns up in three of them! When I first heard the name, I thought there was something dodgy about it. That’s why I asked him where it came from, but it was only when we went to Moxham Heath that I got the full significance.’
‘Wait a minute!’ I hated breaking in again, but there was one thing I had to know. ‘You’re saying that Tirian Kirke is really Wayne Howard. But you told me that you’d checked him out and everything he’d told us about himself was true.’
‘No, mate. I said I’d done a search on him and that everything he’d told us checked out. That’s not the same. His whole life story was fake. And for what it’s worth, that puzzled me too. When Tirian was telling us about himself, why did he have to throw in so many facts? The car accident that killed his parents involved a delivery truck. His aunt lived in Harrogate in a converted vicarage on the Otley Road, five minutes from the town centre. His drama teacher was called Miss Havergill … and so on. It was like he was blinding us with science. I told you when you were at my place – there were too many facts and they couldn’t all be right.’
‘He made it all up!’
‘No! Wayne Howard had been in the newspapers. He was the subject of a book. When he was finally released, he had to be protected and that was the job of MAPP: Multi-Agency Public Protection. They would have been the ones who set him up with a completely new identity, starting with his choice of a new name. There was no way he could go back to Moxham Heath – but he did have a relative in Harrogate, which is why he went there. He didn’t live with her, though. He was in an approved hostel. Just so you know, I have a mate in the Prison and Probation Service in Petty France and I talked to him this morning. He managed to dig out the truth.
‘Wayne was on special licence after his release. He’d have been made aware that he was always at risk of recall. He wouldn’t be allowed to contact anyone connected with Philip Alden or the Longhursts. The south-west would be permanently out of bounds. And he’d have regular meetings with his probation officer, who’d be conducting risk assessments every step of the way. That still continued even when he became an actor.’ Once again, Hawthorne caught my eye. ‘That’s why he had to turn down the part in your TV show, Tony. He wouldn’t have been allowed to play a young offender; there was too much of a chance he’d be recognised. It also explains why he’s never been to France. You might have been a bit surprised when he told you that. But then he’d never had a passport and wouldn’t have been allowed to go abroad until he got cast in that big film. A lot of this was for his own protection. He had to get special permission to perform in Tenet, but at the same time the probation service wouldn’t have wanted to hold him back. Rehabilitation is what it’s all about.
‘Unfortunately, Tenet was what caused all this trouble. You can imagine how terrified he must have been after his encounter with Harriet Throsby.’
‘She was going to tell!’ Tirian could barely get out the words.
‘That’s what she was threatening. Actually, I think she was just playing games with you. She was nasty. But you could see your big opportunity disappearing and your entire career falling apart. Killing her was the only way out.’
Hawthorne had nearly finished. Mills and Grunshaw had taken the steps up to the stage and were waiting to take hold of Tirian.
‘I had a feeling there was something wrong about Tirian the moment I saw his dressing room,’ Hawthorne said. ‘He had so few cards, no photographs, no sense of family or friends. And the way everything was so neat! The cushions exactly ten centimetres apart and the towels folded into perfect squares. That was a pretty good sign of someone who’s been institutionalised. It’s hardly surprising the rest of the cast never got close to him. Jordan called him a cold fish. Ewan said he was a loner … and that’s what he was. He was completely alone.’
Hawthorne went over to Tirian. He had stopped crying at last and was slumped in his chair, exhausted. He laid a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t have done it,’ he said. ‘There was no need.’
‘I was just so scared!’
‘I know. But you don’t need to be scared any more. It’s over now.’
Hawthorne stepped away.
The two police officers moved in.
26
The Dotted Line